STK - LA Style

Dear STK,

How I love thee.  I apologize for considering not visiting you just because we visited your sister in NYC.  You delivered...

OH!!! Sorry, everyone, I was having a moment.  Well the One Restaurant group delivered another great version of STK in West Hollywood.   Sol and I went to speak to the concierge at our hotel telling him we had reservations at STK but were thinking of visiting somewhere else.  He said, "you couldn't have picked a better spot".  With that we held our reservations at 9:30 and went up to the room.

After a few getting ready drinks we were on our way.  We pulled up to the valet and what we saw was a very posh, trendy establishment.  It's one of those places in LA where all the pretty people are, pffshhh after we arrived that is.   Our table wasn't quite ready so we strolled on over to the bar.  It was packed already!  We figured if this place was going to see some business it would be around the 11 0'clock hour.  So I maneuvered my way to the counter and ordered a couple drinks for us. 

great gatsby
hennessy black, cointreau, lemon juice, orange juice

la cienega
corzo silver, lime juice, cucumber slices, mint leaves

 Both were quite tasty.  They held us until we sat down.  We were walking to our table when...oh wait...is that?  Yes it was.  Luke Walton from the Lakers who we'd just seen live the night before.  Not a big star sighting but kinda cool.  We were seated in a very comfy booth with a great view of the restaurant.  The decor was and open loft style with black and white accents.  The A/C system was visible and there was white brick covering the walls.   Large purple floral arrangements gave the room some "pop".  Enough already, let's talk food!

We looked at the menu's and I looked at Sol, "So, are we going to drink a lot or are we going to eat a lot?", I should've known the answer, "Why can't we do both?!?"  And were off!  We ordered a smorgasbord of appetizers a couple at a time and started enjoying a great night.

lil’big macs
wagyu - special sauce - sesame seed bun  - add truffles

 We started with the lil' big macs because that was what we had in NYC and they were some of the most mesmerizing sliders I ever put in my mouth, and though the picture above looks fantastic, they didn't quite deliver here, the special sauce wasn't so special the truffles weren't very strong and the meat was kind of tasteless. But, after this dish everything was fantastic and we didn't turn back.  But STK-LA if you read this call New York and ask them what it is exactly they are doing.



foie gras french toast
green apple - almond brioche - sherry gastrique



Next, we had french toast.  Not just regular french toast but Foie Gras French Toast.  For those of you that know Foie, this was every bit as good as it sounds for those of you that don't click the link and keep an open mind, it's a delicacy.  One I hadn't come to embrace until this night.  The bread was lightly toasted, french style (get it?), very soft.  It melted in my mouth.  The syrup was perfectly sweet.  I cut a small piece of Foie Gras and it added the most brilliant flavor to this dish, it was so rich and so hearty.  The consistency was so smooth I could barley differentiate what was what in my mouth.  This was definitely the highlight of the meal.

jumbo lump crab
green melon - avocado - mache greens - kaffir lime

For the following dish we chose a crab dish, since we had missed it at the Lobsta Truck and STK didn't disappoint.  The crab was noticeably fresh, and the accompaniments were wisely chosen.  What I found to be the most interesting was that the thinly sliced honeydew melon, first of all I thought it was cucumber, secondly it added a great bit of sweetness to the dish.  The avocado with some salt was a good contrast to that.  Definitely would order this again.

Another great treat of this meal was the Shrimp rice krispies.   Sounds weird right?  Shrimp with cereal?  Oh how smart these chefs are.  Or maybe inventive is a better word. 

shrimp rice krispies
tiger prawns - shrimp bisque - cilantro

The shrimp bisque was french served (poured over top at the table) so as not to douse the rice krispies and have them soggy upon arrival to the table.  Smart.  First of all these were not rice krispies like 'snap crackle pop but more like puffy crispy white rice.  This absorbed the hell out of the bisque and made for one hell of a compliment to the tiger prawns.   Tiger Prawn=Big Ass Shrimp.  This was a nice rich, wintery dish.  It was scrumptiously yuuuuuuuumy.  Highly recommended and I wouldn't change a thing.

Finally as this comes to a close I must add that we had Mac n' Cheese, and some great bread in a chive oil.  Mac & Cheese was worth ordering if you are going to get an entree, creamy & rich.

 Oh I'm not Done people.  You know as much as we ate, we all have that little bit of room that we save for dessert.  Yes we did...

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That is Puff marshmallow Cream on top of Cinnamon and sugar donut holes sitting on top of Chocolate.  Need I say more??? 

This is a place where you can feel like one of LA's elite.  Where you dress up, drink well and eat better.  The food is creative, amazing,  and inventive.  It's flavorful and well thought out.  Guys if you want to impress take the ladies here.  Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed eating!

Roach Coaches Evolved: The Lobsta Truck

Not a place I had originally planned on visiting but Sol brought it up.  And since I'm about to get hitched I figured I'd better start listening now.  That, and it sounded freaking good after doing some research.  Yes, it's true I research places to eat sometimes.  So what did I find out, they fly lobster (click previous link for more info about the lobster truck) in from Maine almost daily.  It brought me back to a memory when I saw people eating fresh caught lobster in Maine for super cheap.  It was on the Travel Channel or the Food Channel, you know one of those shows.   Sounds good right?  The funny thing is I'm not a big lobster buff like my lady.  BUT the idea of eating something fresh really gets me all hot and bothered.  So, off we went.

Saturday morning we woke up and checked facebook.  That or twitter is how you find out where the Lobsta' Truck is going to be, kinda' new age techy right?  It was about 5 miles away on Melrose Ave.  Didn't take us too long to get there, thank god, after the traffic the night before on our way to Mozza I was dreading it.

 
I drove right by it, I was expecting a giant red food truck.  What I found was three big trucks parked in line as if it was the new restaurant row.  A new fad that I had yet to discover.  I was a little disappointed that I was behind the times but also very excited that there was something new and exciting that I could explore.  Ssomething that didn't take dressing up, a 3 hour dinner, and $300.  On to the Lobsta' baby.

We arrived at the truck and the line only seemed to be maybe 8 people long.  I was relieved, I thought it might be anywhere from 20-40 people long after seeing all of the comments and press it had recently received.  I hate lines and I hate waiting.  Unfortunately my perception did not meet my reality, the line moved slow.   Once we ordered that process was even longer.  Apparently some cow ordered a bunch of Lobsta Rolls and more clam Chowda.  It wasn't just that they were slow.

Above you see the extensive menu of entrees.  They do only a few things and they do it well.  Unfortunately they were out of crab that day so we had our choice of a Lobsta Roll or Clam Chowder.  We made it a little interesting by getting two Lobsta Rolls one with butter and one with Mayo. 

 Finally they called us, bliss.  We pulled our food out of the window from the guy hunched over in the truck.  Added some salt and peppa and walked away with a smile on my face.  We settled into our proper table and chairs, the curb and our laps and took a bite.  The lobster was cold and the bun was warm and lightly toasted.  What I tasted was the freshest lobster I have ever had.  Soft and suculant, lightly buttered and seasoned.  I hope the picture depicts what it was.  Because it was wonderful, Sol is even sitting here trying to bite my toes because she thinks they are lumps of Lobsta.  Seriously, though, awesomeness.  The butter was better than the mayo.  I think the mayo masked the freshness a little much, but that one was still good.  The soup was a little watery, but flavor wasn't bad.  Overall this was a very pleasant experience and when in LA next time i will definetly go a little out of my way for this.

I hope the Lobsta Truck comes to San Diego soon because I will be there waiting in line again. 

Osteria Mozza - "the Mozzerella Tavern"

We arrived to LA, no traffic, wow.  Spoke to soon, shit.  We left 40 minutes early to get to Iron Chef's Mario Batali's Osteria Mozza.  We arrived 50 minutes later, it was 5 miles away.  Yes, I am serious.  After our relaxing drive we walked in, thank god it was worth it.  I felt like we walked into a hot spot in NYC, it had been open for about 10 minutes and it was already filling up.  Then I looked outside and saw a Chevron and a 7-11 and remembered we were in LA.  We knew we were going to sit at the bar until the greeter asked us which one, huh?  She asked if we wanted to sit at the Mozzarella Bar or Amaro Bar.  What's the difference we asked?  She said at the Mozzarella Bar we could watch people make food and at the Amaro bar we could watch them make drinks.  Which do you think we chose?

We took our seat at the Mozzarella Bar, since the name of this place translated is: Mozzarella Tavern.  The bar top was littered with little Italian trinkets and small bowls with spices and herbs.  There were girls dressed as chefs and maids behind the bar working away.  But the difference between a real bar and this one was that we had a server not a bartender.   We were in quite the hurry but we were determined to enjoy ourselves in the hour or so we had.  Everything was in Italian so I kind of had to trust the waiter when making our first two appetizer selections.  First thing I asked was what is the Affettati misti with gnocco fritto .  He said it was cured meat, one of my favorites. 

The white stuff in the bottom left is Lardo, a type of salume (Italian charcuterie) made by curing strips of fatback with rosemary and other herbs and spices.  Top left Prociutto di San Danielle, bottom right Copa, top right a salame.  The gnocco frito (fried dumpling) the pillow in the middle that I melted some lardo on is basically some fried salty puff pastry.  There were probably about 6-8 of these I just put one on the plate for pictures sake.  But it's completely hollow and very different than the typical bread that comes with salumi plates.

Next, I asked what the best Burrata was as there were multiple selection on the antipasti menu.  Burrata is a form of mozzarella, too long to explain.  But creamy goodness is what it really is.    The server said the one with the Bacon was the best, and knowing that anything with bacon is fantastic, I said bring it on.  So we got the Burrata with bacon, marinated escarole (endive) & caramelized shallots.  It was a bruschetta of sorts, the shallots were caramelized in a balsamic reduction which was rich and flavorful.  It had contrasting flavors that melded together.  It was like a rave (one of the wild parties that go on all night with glow sticks and ecstasy), a rave in my mouth. 

Next was the pasta, we didn't really have time BUT I couldn't leave this Italian wonderland without having some pasta. So, we had something traditional, but something neither Sol or I had ever tasted. It was something we saw on No Reservations (Anthony Bourdain) and couldn't wait to try.  It was Bucatini alla Amatriciana.  The pasta looked like spaghetti but was a little thicker.  It was al dente for sho!  Sol said that pasta is cooked that way because its healthier.  I don't know, let me go look it up real quick. My dictionary Wikipedia doesn't say anything about that, I'm all ears if any of you agree!  I'm prepared to say this was the best pasta dish I have ever had. 

This is a split portion

It had some guanciale-cured pork cheek, which I didn't know was going to be in there but am so glad it was.  The sauce was red and a bit spicy, and the al dente pasta was damn good.  There was Pecorino cheese grated over top.  Honestly it was so good I didn't stop to enjoy the true depth of this dish.  I have to say if you live in LA, you'd better get here.  If you don't live in LA make it a spot to check out when you visit, its located in Hollywood.

Service was fantastic, even though the waiter didn't really have much common sense at times.  We told him we had somewhere to be and he took care of everything very quickly.  He had great recommendations, and was very knowledgeable. 

Hope you get here soon my friends.  Eat Well.

And-Here-We-Go

So kind of a weird feeling right now, I'm going to LA and super excited, I've probably been there 100 times, but this is in fact, my first trip as an adult.  I've been there with my Dad when I was little and he paid, I've been there with the frat in college when no one wanted to pay but now I go as an adult, choosing what we get to do and where to eat and I get to pay.  Ohhhhh and where to eat...we'll get to that.  But it should be a fun weekend.  The start to my 8 days off, whoo-hoo!!!)  Sol's taking a half day and we're going to try, to beat the traffic, try.  Then checking into our hotel in Hollywood.

From there we'll go to the Pantry, a childhood favorite of mine and my dads, and his parents too, and it will be my kids favorite too! Whether they like it or not, lol.  Then mine and Sol's first Laker game!!!  Tomorrow we'll hit the Lobsta' Truck and Pink's Hot Dog Stand and STK, yes we are going to STK in LA!  For those of you that remember the one in NYC we are going back for an encore.  We'll probably do some sight seeing and walking around and who knows maybe we'll run into some of the girls from the Hills....lol

I look forward to writing some blogs after the weekends over.

Eat Well my friends, if its some place good, then lemme' know!